Michael Olson

After completing a graduate program in Texas, my work needed to be distilled down into an essence before it could begin to find a personal voice. Therefore, several months were spent removing nonessential elements from my work. Upon bringing it to an elemental stage, I began to rebuild it using a vision which seeks to satisfy a singular need; it is a need to explore and to find the things that make me an artist. The artwork begins with marks made using a stick of charcoal, one of the most fundamental and primal of art supplies. Quite often, the image is developed directly on the easel without any premeditated notions. Using quick movements, I work to capture the elemental image in a burst of energy and develop it in color afterward. Working on a few pieces at once allows me to remain in the moment, and it allows fresh acrylic paint to dry a little before moving onto the next layer. Using these techniques has given me freedoms to create and to think. The immediate image is essential to capturing a thought that lasts for only a few moments in the conscious mind and falls back into the unconscious.